This blog is dedicated to holding Congressman Jim Walsh accountable. Walsh has lost touch with Central New York and sold us out by voting Washington special interest first and his constituents a distant second.

Friday, July 14, 2006

Masks and Fringe Candidates

As one candidate for the 25th Congressional District quit this week, two more made it clear they were serious about challenging Republican Rep. Jim Walsh. But you might not recognize the party names on their petitions.

Douglas Hummel has picked up voter lists and petitions and is trying to get enough signatures to challenge Walsh under the banner of the National Working Americans Political Party, Onondaga County Election Commissioner Helen Kiggins said. He needs a daunting 3,500 valid names for that to happen.

Hummel founded the NWAPP out of dissatisfaction with the established parties' record on issues important to working people, according to his Web site, http://home.twcny.rr.com/nwapp.

Meanwhile, Christina Rosetti, the New Age author who briefly considered a run for the Democratic Party line, said she also plans to petition for an independent party line. She will call it the Republican Democratic Party. Rosetti said she also submitted petitions with enough signatures to force a primary for the Working Families Party line.

The party endorsed Democrat Dan Maffei last month.

Maffei's most energetic primary opponent, Paloma Capanna, dropped out this week. She joined Maffei at the grand opening of his campaign headquarters Tuesday to show support for his run against Walsh.

Capanna brought a bag of gag gifts for Maffei, including a stack of Lone Ranger-type masks. "It's a superhero mask," she explained. "I brought an eight-pack because you're going to need them against Jim Walsh. Keep one in your car, keep one at home, give one to (campaign manager) John Balduzzi."

Hmmm, the Republican Democratic party? I'll take the high road here and not make the obvious joke.

3 Comments:

The fringe candidates are downright dangerous and bug me for two reasons. (1) They suck votes from Democrats and enable Republicans to win. If we had a parlimentary system- I'd be all for them- but we don't- and therefore a vote for them is equivalent vote for the right wing. (2) some of them claim there is "no difference" between Dems and Republicans. Ha, ha, thats funny enough to make one cry. If Gore won, would Bush be making global warming movies? Did Clinton wreck civil liberties and checks and balances in the name of fighting terrorism?

Point (1) LEADS to point (2) - there is a CAUSE AND EFFECT between the fringe and the right wing expansion- and this is the danger. THEREFORE I urge those fringe candidates to be afforded ZERO publicity and help. My 2 cents

Well I think has about a .000001% chance of making the ballot and I think Dan Maffei will win the WFP primary if there is one. However, a minor candidate getting one of the three other lines (IP, Con, WFP) is much more dangerous in New York because of the base votes each of those lines carry. Rosetti might get .5% in any other state, but just having the WFP line could push her up to 2%, if she had the line.